[Final Recommendation] 5 Taiwanese Movies for the Isolation Period

Last time: [Recommendation] 5 South Korean Movies for the Isolation Period

Is the coronavirus situation getting you down? Do you find it difficult to spend days within the confines of your household? Try to pass the time with some Asian movies! On this blog, I’m going to provide my personal movie recommendation for the isolation period. So, gently sit back, and let’s go through the 5 Taiwanese productions that can ease your stay at home:

5. The Wedding Banquet (1993)

      Synopsis: Meet Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao). He is a prosperous businessman with an American citizenship. His Taiwanese parents, Mr and Mrs Gao (Sihung Lung and Gua Ah-leh), are fruitlessly urging Wai-Tung to get married. The problem is that Wai-Tung is living together with his friend Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein) as a gay couple and he’s afraid to tell the parents. In the meantime, Wai-Tung’s tenant, Wei-Wei (May Chin), finds herself out of a job and in need of a green card. Simon comes up with an idea to accommodate all parties: Wai-Tung will have a sham marriage with Wei-Wei. In this way, she will get to stay in the U.S. and the parents will let Wai-Tung off the hook. What can possibly go wrong?

     Opinion: The Wedding Banquet is not so much a comedy of mistakes than a careful observation of family relations. In an almost documentary-like fashion, Ang Lee presents us with the wedding party that is the ultimate culmination of Wai-Tung and Wei-Wei’s fraud as well as Mr and Mrs Gao’s long-time dream. Although this is just fiction, we find ourselves cheering for all the characters to find a proper solution to their problems (which they do, in a way). This movie is not about gender politics but a genuine, unpronounced love between family members which provides a room for reconciliation between Eastern and Western values.

4. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)

    Synopsis: 90 minutes from the lives of people who are at the theatre watching Taiwanese wuxia classic “Dragon Inn” (1967).

     Opinion: I know that this description is a bit tight, but that’s what happens in the entire movie. With the usage of long shots and very little dialogue, director Tsai Ming Liang examines the relationship between the spectators and the silver screen.

3. Pushing Hands (1991)

     Synopsis: Mr Chu (Sihung Lung) is a Tai Chi master who arrived from Taiwan in order to live in the U.S. together with his son Alex (Bo Z. Wang) and his family. While educating his grandson Jeremy (Haan Lee), Mr Chu is unable to communicate with Alex’s wife, Marta (Deb Snyder), who is an aspiring writer and desires peace and quiet at home. Mr Chu finds it increasingly difficult to live within Western culture, but he seeks solace in contact with Mrs Chen (Wang Lai), a cooking instructor at a Chinese Community Centre. The family drama escalates to such a degree that Mr Chu leaves the house in order to find luck on his own on the streets of New York.

     Opinion: If you like slow but engaging slice of life story then this movie is very much for you. Although the movie lasts 100 minutes, it touches upon many issues which are important even today like the generational gap, tradition vs. progress or stoicism consumed by urban hustle and bustle. Pushing Hands is a perfect choice for a quiet family evening.

2. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

     Synopsis: Mr Chu (Sihung Lung) is a widower and a master Chinese chef living in Taipei together with his three unmarried daughters: Chu Jia-Chien (Chien-lien Wu), an execute working in an airline industry; Chu Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei Yang), a school teacher who has issues with relationships and seeks consolation in Christianity; Chu Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), a college student who accidentally gets involved with her friend’s ex-boyfriend. The family lives through everyday existence while ritually eating every night large portions of elaborate dishes prepared by Chu.

     Opinion: In Eat Drink Man Woman, Ang Lee beautifully dissects the fabric of modern-day family in the face of rapid globalisation and fading tradition. As in the case of The Wedding Banquet, the viewer finds himself rooting for all the characters, but the outcome is very much an unexpected one. I safely recommend Eat Drink Man Woman to anyone looking for a peaceful two-hour story set in Taiwan.

1. Yi Yi (2000)

     Synopsis: The movie presented the daily existence of the Jiang family in Taipei. The story focuses in particular on three characters: the middle-aged father NJ (Wu Nien-jen), the young son Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang), and the teenage daughter, Ting-Ting (Kelly Lee). Through such events as weddings, baby showers, and funerals, we discover the intricacies of human life.

     Opinion: Edward Yang’s final masterpiece. Do not hesitate and immerse yourselves in the mesmerising reality of Taipei for three hours. A compelling story and vivid characters will make you remember this movie for years.

This is the end of my recommendation series. I hope that you will pick up some of the suggestions. If so, don’t hesitate to share your opinion on the films in the comments! Thank you for reading.